Deadly standoff

Donovan Thompson, the man who was at the centre of a four-hour hostage crisis in St. James

Father dead, 8 y-o son critical

Barrington Flemming – Staff Reporter

The usually quite
community of Comfort Hall, Anchovy in South St. James, is reeling from a four-
hour hostage crisis, which has left one man dead and his eight-year-old son in
critical condition in hospital.

The dead man is 56-year-old taxi operator, Donavon Thompson.

The four-hour ordeal began to unfold about 1:30 a.m. on
Tuesday, when a police team went to the Comfort Hall area in search of
Thompson, who was a suspect in a sexual offence case.

Commanding Officer for the St. James Police Division,
Superintendent Vernon Ellis, said on arrival at the premises, Thompson
barricaded himself in the house and held his eight-year-old son hostage, while
refusing the police entry to the house.

Thompson reportedly
pulled the curtains from the windows and made several attempts to set the house
ablaze with the use of a lighter and two gas cylinders.

“The fire department, the paramedics, negotiators and the
SWAT team from the JCF were all on the scene and they all tried to persuade him
to end the hostage situation. He, however, made a request to see his wife who
was in another parish. The police acceded to the request and brought the wife
to the house at Comfort Hall.

Superintendent Ellis
said Thompson’s wife and members of the church he attended, as well as
community members, pleaded with him to release the son and give up himself up
to the police but he refused.

ATTACKED HIS SON

“Instead, Thompson started to attack his eight-year-old son
and used a knife to stab him several times to the upper body, during which the
SWAT team from the JCF gained entry by breaching the front of the premises.

He further explained that the police tried to use less
lethal options to subdue Thompson, including bean bags but:

“He continued to
attack his son, stabbing him, and in a bid to save the child’s life, the police
resorted to lethal option. Mr. Thompson was injured, and the paramedics who
were at the scene transported him and his critically wounded son to the
Cornwall Regional Hospital,” he explained.

Thompson succumbed to his injuries while his son has been
admitted.

“The fire department put out the fire and washed down the
house and in the interim, we have since deployed members of the Community
Safety and Security Branch to Comfort Hall as many residents there are
distraught, so we can assist them to cope with this ordeal,” Superintendent
Ellis concluded.